Voter reg the name of the game

By Jillian DeCamp
Political Director, North Carolina Republican Party

“Elections are about people.” In election years, you can hear just about any candidate utter those words to inspire their supporters and those who are working so hard on their behalf. Nothing could be truer. No candidate or party can win an election without the support of the people.

Today, in North Carolina, there are 2,633,248 registered Democrats. There are 1,932,522 registered Republicans and 1,244,998 unaffiliated voters. In N.C., Democrats start with a 700,000 vote lead in every statewide election. For those not familiar with grassroots politics, the task then is to turn out as many voters as a party can that will support their candidates. With 700,000 fewer Republican registrants, we must do our job better than Democrats do and have historically been able to do this explaining why Republicans have carried this state in presidential elections in every election since 1980. Simplistically, for every three Democrats that come out to vote, we must turn out four Republicans.

With a prolonged primary process surrounded by media hype and exposure, Democrat registrations have skyrocketed across the country. In North Carolina, since the first of the year, Democrat registration has risen by 4.6% overall with 121,802 newly registered voters. Independent voters have increased by 5.7% with 71,599. Meanwhile over that same period, Republican registration in N.C. has only increased by 0.6% or 12,947 voters. I am not trying to paint a rosy picture. I am telling you the truth and the numbers don’t lie.

Newly registered voters will play an important part in this year’s election. That is why kicking up our voter registration efforts will be key to winning in November. There are folks all across North Carolina who have conservative values, love freedom, and want to keep more of their paychecks in their wallets and not in the hands of government bureaucrats, yet many of these folks remain unregistered. They are at county fairs and school festivals, at parades and concerts taking place in communities all throughout our state, and yes, they are at NASCAR races. We have to seek out these voters, we have to get them registered, and we have to remind them why the Republican Party is the party with a commitment to their shared vision for our state. This will not be easy. It will take hard work coming from the grassroots up. The Republican Party has always been lead by the common, everyday folks who just want to make a difference for our country, who want to make North Carolina a better place to live and raise a family. I am confident that Republicans in North Carolina will once again rise to the challenge in 2008.

Please sign up and be a part of what we are doing to register voters and elect Republicans this November. Contact the NCGOP and/or county parties with any festivals, county fairs, street fairs, or sporting events that you know about where voter registration could take place. The NCGOP or your county party can provide voter registration forms for booths as well as campaign materials with information about GOP candidates running for office from the courthouse to the White House. Finally, contact county parties for walking/calling lists to register voters in your community. This is your North Carolina Republican Party. Step up. Be a part. Rise to the challenge.